Welcome Home (Alternate Worlds Book 3)

by Leigh, Taylor

  Her words, once he was able to focus on them, were worthy of sympathy, but he couldn’t find any pity. She had obviously died some time ago. Everyone died. How they died was up to fate—or whatever else there was.

  Before he could stop himself, he reached out to touch her face—it seemed only fair for how she used him. His fingers swept right through her cheek, upsetting its form, like smoke, before settling back in place.

  ‘What do you see? What is beyond the veil?’ He struggled for a way to ask a ghost what death was. ‘Do you know where you are?’

  Her expression suddenly grew distant. ‘I am alone. There is nothing but a crushing, swallowing darkness that I cannot fight. It is coming and I am becoming afraid. I am always afraid, always alone. I cannot find the Light! Always…hunted…’

  The words, as they parted through his lips as well as hers, sent an icy chill through him. He couldn’t stop her from slipping away. Yet she was starting to lose her form, to sink back into the blackness.

  ‘What is hunting you? What light? Is there some way I can help you? Just tell me how?’

  ‘You must know the way. Will you not show me?’ His voice wobbled with her misery.

  Andrew hurried down the steps after her as she shrank back. ‘Just tell me how!’ he was nearly shouting.

  It was then that yellow torchlight flooded the bottom of the chamber and a group of teens rushed round the corner with shrieks of laughter. Andrew’s attention was momentarily distracted and the apparition blinked from existence like a candle snuffed out. He stared at the spot she had once been in disbelief. It was as if she’d never even existed.

  ‘Whoops, sorry,’ said one of the new arrivals. ‘Guess we had better find another haunted stairway!’

  The door at the bottom of the stairs slammed shut and threw the room once again into complete blackness. Andrew’s shoulders slumped. He was blinded and the presence of the lady had gone. He couldn’t bring her back; at least not now. With a heart heavy in defeat he turned round and stumped back up the stairs.

  Victoria grabbed him by the arms and hauled him up the remaining steps. Andrew hardly realised how exhausted he was till he felt her actual, warm flesh. He stumbled and sagged against the wall. A cold sweat had broken out across his forehead and he ran his sleeve shakily across, trying to rid himself of it.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she gasped.

  He turned to her. The expression he saw was something closely akin to terror. Terror and…what else…awe? She hadn’t really believed he’d be able to do it—to be fair, neither had he—but he had. The reality made him feel rather proud.

  ‘I’m fine.’ He took a deep breath. ‘It was simply more draining than I had anticipated.’

  Victoria was still staring. ‘I’ve never seen anything like that! The way you were speaking! It wasn’t you!’

  Andrew shuddered. ‘No. I don’t believe it was.’

  Ramses, Sahray and the rest of the Myrmidons were all looking at him like he was some sort of god. Andrew closed his eyes, relishing the moment. Oh, how he craved this! No-one on Scottorr would have given him such attention for any reason. Coming to this world had been one of the best moves he could have made. Forget the musty halls of Academia!

  Faintly, from deep inside him, he could feel his body begin to protest the exertion. His muscles took on a tremble. Soon they’d start to seize, and then he’d be on the floor, losing all control. He had to get out of the sight of these people before that happened.

  He caught Victoria’s eye. She had to know him well enough by now to understand what that meant.

  With a sweet smile, Victoria gripped his arm, more to keep him upright than anything else; yet it made her appear to be a loving, loyal partner. ‘Well, it has been a very long day for both of us and the hour is quite late. I believe we will bid you goodnight now.’

  ‘Perhaps we can resume this some other time?’ Ramses asked hopefully.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Victoria replied, a bit coldly.

  With a bow, the Myrmidons then turned away, talking excitedly in a small knot.

  Andrew waited till they were out of sight before letting out a broken gasp. He couldn’t hold back the shakes any longer and his body broke into uncontrollable trembles. In defeat he rested heavily against Victoria, unable to help himself, as his vision blurred. Very faintly he could hear Victoria speaking to him.

  Somehow he managed to follow as she guided him. The journey took much too long, and by the time they finally reached her room, it was impossible to remain upright.

  Andrew collapsed to her bed, wheezing. He could feel the oncoming seizure building inside of him. Victoria knew it was coming, too. She sat down beside him and pulled his hair away from his face; the effect was strangely calming.

  He did what he could to focus on her features, but his vision was already starting to vibrate.

  ‘She’s lost…Victoria,’ he managed to mumble. For some reason he couldn’t shake the ghost’s terrified words from his mind. His body gave a jerk and he groaned unhappily. ‘I have to…save her…’

  He, however, didn’t hear Victoria’s next words, for his body betrayed him and he collapsed into a painful, violent darkness.

  * * * * *

  Andrew had awoken early, as usual.

  Victoria hardly considered it a decent time, considering their late night, and pulled her pillow over her head as Andrew barked at her to get up. With a groan she curled into a tighter ball.

  Andrew dropped down and rolled her over. She cracked open her eyes to wince against the light. His close proximity sent her stomach fluttering. ‘Oh, what time is it?’

  ‘Late enough! Come on.’ He leapt from the bed in a burst of energy and went to treading the floor.

  Victoria clamped her hands over her eyes. ‘It’s a good day to sleep in! There’s no reason to get up!’

  ‘I can think of several,’ Andrew said distractedly.

  ‘Yeah,’ Victoria huffed. ‘And I can think of several for staying in!’

  ‘Oh?’ Andrew whirled round to face her, a dangerous gleam appearing in his eyes.

  He swept over and down again in a smooth motion, trapping her beneath him. Leaning forward fluidly he brought his face alarmingly close to hers. Her breath caught in her chest, thrown off by his suddenness; by the shattered blue of his eyes. That stare was almost sharp enough to cut.

  ‘Can you, now?’ He pressed further forward, till he was resting on his elbows. Each breath Victoria managed brought her chest against his.

  ‘Andrew,’ she whimpered, aware of her voice growing tight.

  His knees went knocking against hers, an amused smile at those damned soft lips. Her skin was going hot as he dipped his head and pressed his lips to her neck; Victoria trembled beneath him. He did not allow them to be this close, so what was he on about now? With another kiss she could hear him trying to suppress a chuckle. He was enjoying the reaction he was getting.

  This is what he always bloody did. Andrew brought everything down to a very basic level: make it a game. Get the reaction out of people he wanted. And he was doing a damn good job of it now. Victoria was well aware of the heat spreading through her body, well aware that she was starting to give in. She knew better, but he was making it incredibly difficult for her to keep a clear head with him as close as he was now.

  ‘Andrew, please,’ Victoria snapped, irritated by the entire display. The truth was: the idea of being with Andrew was slightly terrifying. He was so unpredictable a person…

  He retreated slightly, giving her some room to breathe, and looked down at her, raising his eyebrows. ‘What? You had something else in mind?’

  Victoria shoved him away. ‘Not now.’

  He sat back, a smirk forming on his lips. ‘Good. Now that you’re awake, you might as well get up!’

  Victoria rolled her eyes. ‘What’s gotten in to you?’ She fluffed her hair and studied him in puzzlement. He was practically buzzing. ‘It’s like you’ve gone mad! I don’t know if I should be terrifi
ed or intrigued.’ She stopped for a moment in thought. ‘You’ve been more romantic in the last twenty-four hours than you have in our entire relationship.’

  He gave an indifferent shrug, eyes glued on the window which looked out over the desert. ‘We’ve got much to accomplish today, in case you’ve forgotten.’

  Victoria slid out of bed and went to her wardrobe. Most of her clothing was still there, if a little musty. She pulled out a dress and gave it a good wipe-down. ‘Huh?’ Her brain was still reeling from his latest act.

  He swung back to her, eyes shining. ‘The meteorite! We should have left hours ago! I doubt we’ll be the first ones there by this time! Come now, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten! Of course, we must also bring those pods back to the city to help clear up the water supply and I have to meet with your cousin and the Myrmidons, so we can get our minds on the same track for returning this city to normal, and maybe…go back to the supposed spirit…’

  Victoria stared at him. ‘We can’t do all that today! Are you insane?’

  Andrew clapped his hands together. ‘Of course we can! But not if you don’t get a move on!’

  An hour later, Victoria was riding across the desert with Andrew and Assad towards the smoking side of the mountain where the star had crashed.

  They had rounded the great Bone Vault, and were now racing beneath the towering shrooms that grew along the jagged cliffs. The sun was climbing higher and yet the globe of Scottorr above would block it all together soon enough, sending the world into an early night. Their time was short. The desert turned to a much more inhospitable place once night fell.

  As they neared the site the crush of people began. Smoke and conversations choked the air; several sightseers pointed their way.

  She slowed her horse to a walk and glanced over at Andrew. His face was set in a grim, determined line. He urged his animal forward and Assad and Victoria, exchanging an unsure look, followed, pushing through the crowd.

  The crater was not what Victoria had expected. Radiating heat, it kept the majority of the onlookers well back. As they followed the trench, she wondered what exactly could have created such a thing. Great, thin lines were gouged along the length, made her think whatever it was had some sort of spikes sticking from it, which had caught in the rocky soil.

  Their horses shied away from the pit as if there were some smell that hung over it they feared.

  The trench ended at the rugged base of the mountain. Victoria couldn’t begin to guess what was resting there. Perhaps a giant rock, glowing orange or green and burning hot. Maybe a metal disc or a god.

  What she saw was absolutely nothing—save for Ramses and his small group of followers.

  Behind them the crowd shuffled forward, growing braver.

  She could only stare in disappointment. It must be some sort of trick—or perhaps it was a god. She didn’t like to think of that. ‘There’s nothing here!’

  Andrew dropped from his horse, which was backing away from the crater, ears flattened on its head as if faced with a giant viper.

  ‘Victoria,’ he said, ‘with that force of impact, it would have buried itself deep into the ground. It’s probably kilometres in the earth right now. Especially with sand like this.’ He tossed the reigns to Assad.

  The chatter behind them was hushed awe now. All eyes were on Andrew in an almost worshipful manner, especially Ramses.

  She huffed and fought to keep her horse still. ‘Well, what good was it coming, then? Not like we have any way of digging it out.’

  Andrew cast her a patient look. ‘This is monumental. Unheard of, almost.’

  She dropped, not wanting to get too close. The crater was smoking, shimmering the air. Andrew sank down to a squat and pressed his palm to the ground.

  ‘Still warm,’ he mused, ‘but not burning. Odd. Look, you can see where some of the sand melted. It’s turned to glass.’

  His every move was watched by the hundreds of eyes. Victoria accidentally locked gazes with Ramses and looked away quickly; taking the shard Andrew offered her she turned it over in her hands, fascinated. ‘Something this big, wouldn’t someone have seen it in the sky headed towards us? You may think we’re primitive, but we still have astronomers.’

  Andrew sighed. ‘One would think so. Even without a spyglass, if someone had sufficient knowledge of the stars, they should have realised this didn’t belong. I should have seen it.’

  They both looked to the bottom of the smoking pit, perhaps thirty metres below them. Victoria froze. Something was down there. Some small, black spot marring the crumbling base of the mountain. It wasn’t an object, more like the absence of one.

  ‘Hey, d’you see that?’ she asked. ‘It’s like a cave or something.’

  Andrew scowled, following her pointing finger. He at last spotted it. ‘Well, that’s interesting,’ he breathed. ‘Something must have been buried. It’s a wonder it wasn’t destroyed!’

  Yet something else at the bottom of the pit shifted, ever so slightly. Victoria’s eyes fell to it and her heart gave another leap. Some tanned, familiar shape was sprawled across the smoking rocks.

  ‘Andrew…there’s something else down there…It…it looks like a…a body.’

  Several near them gasped.

  Andrew glanced down at the shape for a moment, disinterested. ‘Probably just some local who wanted to have a look. Most likely suffocated from the heat.’ He moved his bony shoulders up and down in an indifferent shrug. With a glance back, Victoria was met by nervous heads shaking. Not to blame.

  She turned back to the body, not so easily bored as her friend. It moved again, raising itself up on muscular arms. It was a man, she could tell that even from a distance, because he wore nothing she could discern; and, unlike someone who had simply suffocated, his body was a wreck of soot and contusions she could see even through the haze.

  Victoria cupped her hands round her mouth and shouted down, ‘Hello!’

  For a long moment the figure didn’t stir, then, slowly, his head swung forward and he pushed himself up to a stooped stance.

  Assad let out an anxious moan. ‘I don’t like this.’

  The man took an uneasy, staggering step forward, and then another, growing more confident with each step, like a toddler just learning. People were gasping in amazement now, attention no longer fixed on Andrew.

  ‘He’s all right…’ Victoria gaped in awe.

  Andrew made a strange, unsure noise. ‘I highly doubt that.’

  On and on the man came, faster now, staggering up towards them, lunching over rocks like a drunk. Victoria was shocked by just how fast the man was able to scale the unstable ground. He would be on them in a matter of moments. The rapid advance was clearly spooking those watching—save for Ramses, perhaps, for as they backed away he stepped nearer.

  Assad must have come to the same conclusion she had for he jumped to the edge of the pit, spear ready. The approaching stranger seemed not to notice the weapon till he’d almost impaled himself on it. He stopped, breathing hard, staring at the glinting, sharp point almost stubbornly.

  ‘That’s far enough,’ Assad growled.

  Victoria got her first look good at the man, and had to admit, he wasn’t that bad on the eyes. He was strongly built, with curling hair and amber, smouldering eyes, which, though dazed, shone.

  More awed murmuring began.

  ‘You all right, mate?’ Victoria asked gently.

  The man scowled, as if trying to work out what she’d said. Victoria bit her lip, wondering if he wasn’t quite right in the head. Assad pulled off his cloak and tossed it him. The stranger snagged it in the air, fast as a viper’s strike and without a glance.

  ‘Hmm, well, his reflexes are still there.’

  Ramses had bustled forward, pushing Assad to one side without care.

  ‘Who are you?’ Victoria tried again. ‘Are you from around here?’

  The stranger gazed down at the cloak in his hands and then looked back up to them. ‘Noel.’

&nbs
p; By his voice, Victoria caught he wasn’t from anywhere she recognised. She glanced to Andrew. ‘That sound like an accent from Scottorr?’

  He shook his head. ‘Hard to tell, there are plenty of dialects. Not one I know.’

  ‘Another visitor! Welcome, master Noel!’ Ramses beamed, spreading his hands.

  At last Assad let Noel up out of the pit. Victoria smiled at him as hospitable as possible. ‘What are you doing out here, Noel?’

  It was almost tangible as those around them shifted to have a closer look.

  The stranger ran his hands through his hair, staring at her for a long moment. ‘What is this place?’

  ‘The desert. You didn’t come to see the meteor?’

  The man blinked, a slight frown furrowing his brow. He didn’t seem satisfied with her answer. His blond hair stood on end. Soot and dirt smeared his handsome face. ‘I didn’t see a meteor fall.’

  Andrew and Victoria both exchanged a glance. Something was…off. She couldn’t put her finger on what, however.

  Ramses clapped a hand on the stranger’s back, perhaps a little too firmly for his condition. ‘It’s all right. He’s confused, that’s all! Not to be blamed after that entrance!’

  ‘For stars sake,’ Andrew snapped at Ramses, ‘he didn’t fall from the bloody sky!’

  ‘Traveller?’ Assad looked to Andrew uncertainly.

  Andrew wrinkled up his nose. ‘He must have hit his head, perhaps has a slight concussion, memory loss. Anyhow, he needs to be taken back to the city. So, Assad, if you would just take him and Victoria back—along with the rest of this rabble—I’d be much obliged.’

  To Victoria’s dismay, Andrew took a cautious step to the treacherous slope in an attempt to pick his way down. Noel stepped obligingly aside, but his eyes locked on Andrew in a sharp, searching way.

  ‘Oi! I’m not going anywhere! And what do you think you’re doing?’ Victoria cried, breaking Noel’s attention.

  Assad pushed the stranger towards the crowd where he was met by worshipping hands. They pulled him into their midst with fearful awe. Ramses swept up and draped the robe across Noel’s broad shoulders. Victoria caught a pause as they exchanged a look and then Noel bowed gratefully. He was already a celebrity. No-one was interested in what the Traveller was going to find. He was no longer the fixation of the crowd’s adoration. They had found a new distraction.